The Fighter and the Fallen Woman (30 page)

As Shade was rising in that deadly arc, his body straining for every ounce of strength, Knife dashed into the square, pulling a blade out from the small of his back, and plunged it into Shade’s belly, driving it upward in three sharp thrusts. King turned to watch Knife, and they all froze as the rock tumbled from Shade’s hand and Shade tumbled to the ground.

Knife pulled his blade free and wiped each side on Shade’s pants. He motioned with it for King to go over to Mr. Adams. As Knife followed, Hannibal chuckled and released his hold on Lady’s mouth, but not her arm.

“Bad boy, Knife. Bad boy.” He shook his finger at the Aussie. “You put me in a tough situation here, killing one of my men without permission, yet doing it in such a way I can’t help but admire.”

“You can admire this instead,” Lady said and pressed something sharp to Hannibal’s neck.

* * *

“Here now.” Mr. Adams was upset and his grip tightened on Lady’s arm. “Where’d you get that knife? What’s this all about?”

“If anybody knows what you wear under your coat, Mr. Adams, it’s your whore,” Lady said, spitting the last word. “Now, here’s what’s going on. King won, which means we get to leave. If you want to rewrite the rules, understand I will too.” She pressed the tip of the knife hard enough to sink it into his skin, and a trickle of blood ran down his neck and stained his shirt.

“Oh-ho.” Mr. Adams’s voice was jocular, but he didn’t move other than that. “What about your King, there? Knife, how is our winner?”

“I think he understands I don’t like cheaters much, so he’s being a good boy for now.”

Lady quickly glanced at King and saw an eerie reversal of her situation—Jonathan holding his knife to King’s neck. She only had one chance to end this with no blood of King’s spilled.

“If you don’t like cheaters, Jonathan—”

“Knife!” Mr. Adams bellowed. The movement forced the blade in deeper, but he didn’t seem to care. “His name is Knife!”

In that instant, Lady knew more fear than she ever had in her career as a prostitute, than in her entire life. Mr. Adams might very well impale himself on the knife Lady was holding, would probably kill himself, but he would take her with him. Lady knew enough about Mr. Adams’s drive and determination that it wouldn’t surprise her if he didn’t die until she was dead first, King just as dead by Jonathan or from trying to save her.

“My apologies, gentlemen.” Lady could use the names Mr. Adams loved, even as blood was being spilled. “Knife, if you don’t like cheaters, then what are you going to do with Mr. Adams?”

“Why would I do anything with Mr. Adams, Ladybird?”

“Because he said nothing changed even with King winning the fight, that I was still going back with him.” Lady tried to keep eye contact with Jonathan while telling him this, but she was scared enough of Mr. Adams that she ended up looking between the two men like a mouse watching a cat race about the yard.

“Is that true, Mr. Adams?” Jonathan asked, and Lady was relieved to see his blade relax a bit, falling away from King’s neck by the length of a finger.

“Knife, this isn’t important.” Mr. Adams laughed. “What’s important is—”

“Is that true, Mr. Adams?” Jonathan asked again, his voice strident, his lips pulled back against clenched teeth.

Mr. Adams sighed and Lady knew what was coming. He had never been one to tell elaborate lies or charm people into believing what stories he wanted them to follow, it just wasn’t in him. He got to where he was by bribery, extortion and well-backed threats, not flattery or charisma. Lady could practically see his thought process of how he was going to bully Jonathan into his way of thinking.

“Knife, I want Lady to come back with me. She makes me happy. I knew as soon as I found her I wasn’t going to let her go, no matter what bargains were struck. The way I see it, I paid for her and I own her, so how can she go somewhere if I don’t want her to?”

“So you cheated.” Jonathan sounded almost sad. He glanced at Lady and she nodded. He appeared to weigh things in his mind for a few seconds, and Lady prayed like she never had before. Her arm was getting tired and she was going to have to lower the knife or stab Mr. Adams and be done with it. The only problem was, stabbing Mr. Adams might put her at a severe disadvantage with Jonathan and she might still end up dead.

In a sudden movement that made Lady think Jonathan had cut King, he slashed the knife through the air so it was pointing to a spot behind Lady. “Get over there,” he said to King, and waited until King had walked over to stand several steps behind Lady before coming behind Mr. Adams, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out the ruby necklace. One-handed, he slipped it into Lady’s bag, then tossed the bag at King. “There, the necklace is Mr. Adams’s forfeit for cheating. Now go.” He smoothly stepped in front of Mr. Adams, forcing Lady’s knife to lightly bump against the Aussie’s neck instead and draw fresh blood.

Lady froze, knowing Jonathan had the reflexes to beat her, even with her blade against his neck and his knife only held loosely at his side. Her fear and surprise locked her in place, and there was a small part of her that knew she was going to die, because she couldn’t move, couldn’t physically step back from this confrontation she had started.

“You already had me hurt Mr. Collins.” Jonathan looked and sounded like a lad in the throes of heartbreak. “Don’t make me hurt anybody else, Ladybird. Please.”

Lady was so shaken by Jonathan’s entreaty, she was able to take a hesitant step back, pulling the knife from the side of his neck. Before she started shaking, she felt King’s hands on her shoulders, giving her the strength to lower the knife. In a movement almost as sudden as Jonathan’s, King took the knife from Lady with his left hand and pushed her behind him with his right.

“Pick up the bags, Lady,” King said as he pushed them back another step. “Don’t forget mine over there.”

Lady grabbed both bags, tucking one under her arm to keep one hand free. She could see Jonathan, still standing as passive as he had been, but Mr. Adams was getting his anger back, and that was a bad sign. Even worse was the taut set to King’s shoulders, a clear sign of impending attack.

“King, it’s time to go.” Lady took a step backward, but he wasn’t moving. “King, please. Broken promises and shattered dreams, remember?” She reached out her hand, willing him to feel it even though he couldn’t see it

Slowly, he reached one hand back and she took it. She’d never felt anything as good as how tightly he grabbed her, a promise to never let go. She took another step back, King stepping with her, and she could finally take a breath. They kept walking backward until they were on the other side of the village square. There was a second of stillness, then Jonathan dropped his knife at his feet. King turned, took the second bag in his free hand, and they ran. It felt like they ran for hours, winding between buildings and down narrow streets and alleys, through the docks until they reached the ship. It was about to sail, ropes being cast off, but with King’s offer of twenty pounds, the gangplank was lowered again for them and they boarded. Their cabin was small, but it was clean and, more importantly, it was safe. As the ship pulled away from the dock and settled into the smooth waters of the harbor, King held out his hand to her. “Let’s say goodbye to our old lives.”

She smiled at him, knowing she would follow this man around the world if he asked. “Let me get my shawl. It’s going to be cold up there.” She reached into her bag. She felt the soft fabric and pulled, but it wasn’t her shawl that spilled out of the bag, it was the quilt she had given King. She turned surprised eyes toward him, holding the corner of the quilt out to him like it could ask the question she was thinking. “You brought it. This is what you risked your life for,” she said in awe.

“I told you I had something too valuable to leave behind.” He reached beside her to pull it completely out of the bag. He draped it over one arm, and led Lady up to the deck as the sun was beginning to set. He swirled the quilt around his back, then pulled Lady into his embrace, wrapping her in both his arms and the quilt as they watched the sliver of land grow smaller and smaller in the deep orange light.

“You were right,” she said softly, feeling warm, safe and alive.

“About what?”

“A happy ending. I got one.”

* * * * *

Looking
for
more
scandalous
historical
romance
?
Don’t
miss
AN
INCONVENIENT
KISS
by
Caroline
Kimberly
—
available
now
!

AN INCONVENIENT KISS
The Ashford Brothers Series, book one
India, 1820

Georgiana Phillips always conducted herself according to the rules of polite society. So catching Simon Ashford in a compromising position should have been shocking. Instead it was…arousing. And kissing him herself was absolutely delicious—until it led to her ruination.

That perfect, scandalous kiss has haunted Simon for six years. He doesn’t regret it, though he’s tried desperately to restore Georgie’s reputation. When he’s ordered to look after her in the wilds of India, it’s an opportunity to finish what he started. But he’s no match for Georgie’s adventurous spirit—she seems set on getting herself killed, diving in after hungry crocodiles and braving monsoons to hunt for lost treasure.

Georgie wouldn’t trade her exciting new life for anything in the world, including marriage. And yet Simon seems determined to rein her in, rewarding her brief moments of propriety with kisses far more exotic than any tribal ceremony or archaeological expedition. How can he convince her that she’s so much more than a beautiful obligation?

The Ashford Brothers Series continues with
AN INCONVENIENT WIFE
.

Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers and much more!

Visit
CarinaPress.com

We like you—why not like us on Facebook:
Facebook.com/CarinaPress

Follow us on Twitter:
Twitter.com/CarinaPress

About the Author

Growing up in Montana, playing the French horn and earning a degree in physics led Pamela Cayne to the one thing nobody expected her to be—a writer (and a romance writer at that!). Now, in between watching
Doctor Who
and the Food Network, Pamela writes love stories about people who, no matter how broken or damaged they are, find that one person who understands, accepts and loves them anyway. She lives in the southwest with her husband, also a writer, where they enthusiastically discuss better ways to torture their characters.

Where no great story goes untold.
The variety you want to read, the stories authors have always wanted to write.
With new releases every week, your next great read is just a download away!

Keep in touch with Carina Press:
Read our blog:
www.CarinaPress.com/blog
Follow us on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/CarinaPress
Become a fan on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/CarinaPress

ISBN-13: 9781426899591

The Fighter and the Fallen Woman

Copyright © 2015 by Pamela Walters

Edited by Alissa Davis

All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.

www.CarinaPress.com